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The Wide World of Fleas

We all know that fleas are itchy pests which need to be kept away to stop our pets from scratching all day long. For many pet owners, the task of getting rid of these blood sucking parasites once and for all has become an impossible task. This month we are giving an insight into the world of fleas to help you on your flea fighting mission, because the more you understand them, the better you will be at avoiding and preventing them from being an ongoing problem in the household.

The Hard Facts

Fleas are a problem all over the world. In the United States, pet owners spend an estimated $1.6 billion (US) every year treating fleas with the assistance of pet groomers. Another $4 billion (US) is spent on flea treatments bought over the counter and a whopping $348 billion (US) is spent on professional flea removal services. At one time, however, people didn’t look at fleas as nothing but a bother. In fact, they once provided entertainment in the form of flea circuses, which have been around for about 300 years throughout Europe and the United States. At these special circuses, fleas were attached to miniature carts and performed various circus acts. In some cases, the acts were simulated, but there were flea circuses that truly used fleas as the main attraction.

Powerful Fleas

Fleas are very small creatures weighing only one-millionth of a pound. Despite being only 2-3 millimeters long, they are capable of pulling 160,000 times their own body weight. Put into proportion, this would be equivalent to a human pulling about 24 million pounds. Fleas are also very strong jumpers. They are able to jump up to 12 inches into the air, which is 150 times their own height. This is equivalent to a human jumping 1,000 feet. To be able to get this height, fleas have to work up an acceleration that is 50 times more than a space shuttle when it lifts off. Because of their incredible endurance, fleas are also able to jump 30,000 times non-stop. Oddly, they reverse their direction each time they jump, which makes them very difficult to catch.

The Flea Life Cycle

Fleas can be difficult to get rid of once they have taken over a pet or a home. This is mostly due to the fact that their life cycle has not been stopped. To truly get rid of fleas, you need to get rid of the adult fleas, the eggs, and the larvae. Make sure you choose flea control that will work on destroying fleas in every stage of the life cycle. For bad cases you may even need to combine flea prevention treatments until you have the problem under control. You will also need to vacuum and wash all of your household bedding, particularly the pet’s bedding, once per week while eradicating fleas. This will ensure the larvae and the eggs are destroyed.

Flea fighting tips

Never split doses of flea treatments between pets, they need the whole does for the full effect.

Read product instructions on how to properly apply or administer treatments

Don't wash pets 24 hours before or after you apply a spot on treatment for best effect.

Choose the best product for you, there are many different treatments available which can be very effective in different situations.

Treat all household pets simultaneously, If you treat your pets at different stages it will become very difficult to rid all animals from flea infestations.

Never skip doses; you MUST treat your pet for fleas every single month of the year. Even if your pet doesn’t have fleas!